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Woman who blackmailed with rape claims given extra time to avoid jail

A woman who blackmailed a man with rape claims in exchange for money has been given extra time to find a place to live for home detention.

Joanne Lee Kerr, 33, was told she had less than a month to find a home when she appeared in the Blenheim District Court on Monday.

Judge Richard Russell said she had until her next appearance on May 8 to find a place to live or she would go to jail.

Kerr admitted repeatedly threatening a Blenheim man, saying she would go to the police and say he raped her and tell his friends on Facebook he was a convicted sex offender unless he gave her $120 a week for a year.

READ MORE: Woman blackmailed man with rape claim

Kerr was to be sentenced on Monday but her lawyer Rennie Gould said she needed a few more weeks to confirm if a place in Picton would be available for home detention, where she would have an ankle bracelet and be unable to leave the property.

Gould suggested a sentence of intensive supervision to avoid delaying the case any further, but Judge Russell said supervision was too light for the crime.